Poland’s cryptocurrency legislation returns to parliament as lawmakers debate regulatory overreach and who will cover supervision costs.
What Does the Cryptocurrency Bill Regulate?
The bill on the cryptoasset market implements EU’s MiCA regulation but goes beyond the minimum required by the EU. It establishes detailed rules for conducting cryptoasset business, civil liability for informational documents, and the organization and competencies of market supervision, entrusting it to the Financial Supervision Commission (KNF).
The regulations introduce definitions of cryptoassets, issuers, service providers, and trading platforms, requirements for service regulations, and qualification standards for advisors. The bill allows documents related to cryptoasset services to be fully electronic while maintaining the effects of written form, with the finance minister setting security requirements by regulation.
Key Regulatory Powers for KNF
A key regulatory block concerns KNF’s powers. The bill provides for the possibility of blocking cryptoasset and bank accounts for 96 hours, extendable by the prosecution to six months, and creating a register of domain names used for activities violating MiCA, with a requirement for internet providers to block them. This means an exchange or platform operating without a license could be cut off from users overnight if added to KNF’s register.
Supervision Fees and Sanctions
The bill also establishes a system of fees for supervision and a broad catalog of supervisory measures and administrative sanctions. KNF can demand suspension of offers, block trading of specific cryptoassets, order corrections to marketing materials, and in extreme cases, order the sale of shares in cryptoasset market entities. The bill foresees high financial penalties (reaching tens of millions of zlotys) and sanctions for unauthorized token offerings or providing services without permission.
Legislative Journey and Political Dispute
The first version of the bill was passed by parliament in autumn 2025, designating KNF as the supervisory body and expanding its instruments to include account and domain blocking. On December 1, 2025, President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the bill, accusing it of “overregulation,” excessively far-reaching blocking powers, and excessive supervision costs compared to other EU financial markets.
The ruling coalition tried to reject the veto in December but lacked the required 3/5 majority, forcing preparation of version 2.0. The new project – document 2064 – largely repeated the vetoed solutions, modifying only individual parameters, including upper fee limits. Parliament passed the bill again on December 18, 2025, after which it went to the Senate, which adopted it with one amendment (document 2143) on January 8, 2026.
At this stage, the political dispute shifted from “whether to regulate” to “how strongly.” The government and parliamentary majority argue that without the bill, Poland will not implement MiCA by June 30, 2026, complicating registration of domestic entities and pushing the sector to other jurisdictions. The presidential opposition and part of the industry environment point out that excessive KNF powers, lack of precise procedural guarantees for domain blocking, and high burdens may rather discourage innovative firms than attract them.
Senate’s Amendment
The Senate decided on one but significant change. In Article 79, paragraph 1, the words “0.1” were replaced with “0.5,” increasing the maximum rate considered when determining the annual fee to cover supervision costs for token issuers linked to assets and tokens that are e-money. The justification emphasized that the amendment restores the 0.5% limit provided in the original government project, reduced in parliament on the initiative of Poland 2050 to 0.1% to relieve startups.
Senators argue that too low a limit would mean supervision costs for token issuers would be covered by other entities supervised by KNF – banks, brokerage houses, or insurers – from their own supervision fees. For the crypto industry, this means a real risk of higher burdens than in the parliamentary version, but also a greater chance that supervision of this market segment will not be shifted to the rest of the financial sector.
Regulation vs. Overregulation: Arguments from President and Government
In the veto justification, the president emphasized that Polish regulation significantly goes beyond what MiCA requires, creating “overregulation” that could stifle market development rather than increase security. “When the government blocks a website, people lose access to their digital funds. This cannot be accepted,” presidential spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz commented on the domain blocking provisions.
The head of the Presidential Office, Zbigniew Bogucki, added that Nawrocki’s decision resulted from the bill introducing “excessive, unclear and disproportionate” solutions. The government side defended the necessity of regulation, emphasizing investor protection and national security. Prime Minister Donald Tusk appealed to the president: “please don’t interfere and please allow this bill to be passed, thanks to which cryptocurrency market participants in Poland will be safe, or at least safer.” Deputy Finance Minister Jurand Drop noted that the project is identical to the vetoed version as it underwent the entire legislative process, and the goal is full implementation of MiCA before the June 30, 2026 deadline.
